By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Some P160 million “pabaon†(send-off money) was allotted to then Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Diomedio Villanueva when he retired in May 2002, whistle-blower George Rabusa said Monday.
The former military budget officer said he withdrew P10 million 16 times for Villanueva on orders of his boss, then military comptroller Carlos Garcia.
Rabusa said he delivered the money to Garcia, who he assumed turned this over to Villanueva.
“I gave everything to him. The amount totaled P164 million, including a P4-million interest. He was the one who gave it to Villanueva,†he said of Garcia in a phone interview.
Rabusa said he had kept copies of certifications from a manager of Security Bank on the deposits and withdrawals he made with the bank before the Anti-Money Laundering Act was enacted.
Rabusa declined to say how much retirement money Roy Cimatu, who replaced Villanueva, received, saying he would disclose this at the Senate blue ribbon committee’s resumption of its hearing scheduled for this week.
In a TV interview, he said Villanueva and Cimatu received more than P50 million in send-off money, but did not specify the figures. Villanueva was AFP chief of staff for 14 months (from March 2001 to May 2002) and Cimatu for just four months (from May 2002 to September 2002).
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